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Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup)
| next = }} Morocco v Iran was a match which took place at the Krestovsky Stadium on Friday 15 June 2018. Preview and teams's preparation Morocco and Iran meet for the first time in the World Cup in Friday's Group B tie in St Petersburg (16:00 BST). Morocco will be hoping right-back Nabil Dirar is passed fit after he missed his country's friendlies against Slovakia and Estonia because of a calf injury. Iran are without suspended defensive midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi. There are also fitness doubts surrounding striker Mehdi Taremi and former Fulham and Nottingham Forest midfielder Askhan Dejagah. Both nations impressed in qualifying with Morocco only conceding one goal in their eight games, while Iran only let in five goals in their 18 qualifying matches. However, they were left rueing the draw that saw them placed in the same group as 2010 winners Spain and reigning European champions Portugal, with only the top two sides advancing to the last 16. "Iran have been drawn in the hardest group in the World Cup and we needed more preparation," said former Real Madrid boss Carlos Queiroz, who will end his seven-year stint as Iran manager after the tournament. With tough challenges ahead, both countries will be seeing this as a must-win match. Morocco play Portugal on Wednesday, 20 June (13:00 BST), before Iran play Spain at 19:00 BST on the same day. Morocco's captain is Juventus defender Medhi Benatia and their squad also includes Real Madrid defender Achraf Hakimi and Wolves midfielder Romain Saiss. Iran striker Sardar Azmoun, who plays in Russia for Rubin Kazan, has scored 23 times in 33 international appearances. Head to head Morocco and Iran have never met at the World Cup. In fact, they have faced each other only once previously, a game which ended in a draw. Match Iran won their first match at a World Cup finals since 1998 as Morocco substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz scored an own goal in injury time. Bouhaddouz put the ball into his own net with a diving header at the near post in the 95th minute as Morocco defended a left-wing free-kick. The result was harsh on the African side, who had wasted numerous chances in the first half and were denied late on when Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand produced a fine save from Hakim Ziyech. But Iran took the victory, only their second in World Cup history after a 2-1 win over the United States at France 1998. Morocco became the second African side to concede a late winning goal in the World Cup on Friday, after Egypt lost 1-0 to Uruguay in Group A, thanks to a last-minute header from Jose Gimenez. Both Morocco and Iran impressed in qualifying with Morocco only conceding one goal in their eight games, while Iran remained unbeaten and only let in five goals in their 18 qualifying matches. However, they were both left rueing the draw that saw them placed in the same group as 2010 winners Spain and European champions Portugal, with only the top two sides advancing to the last 16. Spain and Portugal, 10th and fourth in the world rankings respectively, have won four major tournaments between them in the past 10 years. Before the match, Iran's coach Carlos Queiroz said his side had been "drawn in the hardest group in the World Cup". Going into injury time in St Petersburg, it looked like being a result neither Morocco or Iran wanted, before Morocco's Sofyan Amrabat conceded a needless free-kick by fouling Saman Ghoddos near the corner flag. But that gave Ehsan Haji Safi the opportunity to whip in the free-kick, and Bouhaddouz could only steer the ball into his own net for an unlikely Iran victory. Morocco will now need a positive result when they play Portugal on Wednesday, 20 June (13:00 BST), before Iran play Spain at 19:00 BST on the same day. Details |stadium = Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg |attendance = 62,548 |referee = Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Group B Table |w=1 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=1 |ga=0|bc=lightgreen}} |w=0 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=0 |ga=0 |bc=lightgreen}} |w=0 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=0 |ga=0 }} |w=0 |d=0 |l=1 |gf=0 |ga=1}} |} Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !width=130|Overall !width=70|Morocco !width=70|Iran |- !scope=row|Goals scored |0||1 |- !scope=row|Total shots |13||9 |- !scope=row|Shots on target |3||2 |- !scope=row|Ball possession |68%||32% |- !scope=row|Corner kicks |5||2 |- !scope=row|Fouls committed |22||14 |-| Images= Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).1.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).2.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).3.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).4.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).5.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).6.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).7.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).8.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).9.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).10.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).11.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).12.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).13.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).14.jpg Morocco v Iran (2018 World Cup).15.jpg See also *2018 FIFA World Cup :*2018 FIFA World Cup Group B External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2018 FIFA World Cup Matches